Chris Mucci Memorial Set for Saturday, April 9

Back in January we told you about a local musician looking for a cure. Chris Mucci, 61, of Alton, passed away on February 21 surrounded by his friends and family. This weekend, Chris's friends and accomplices in the music community are hosting a memorial benefit show to celebrate his life and raise funds to assist his wife Shirley in her time of need.

The benefit will be held tomorrow, April 9, at The Loading Dock in Grafton. Butch Moore, The Friendly Henrys and others are scheduled to perform.

Chris was a professional guitarist, singer and songwriter in the St. Louis area who played James Taylor-style folk, Southern rock, piano and acoustic guitar at area wineries as well as institutions like Broadway Oyster Bar and Stagger Inn in Edwardsville. He met his wife while working as a musician in Florida, playing with his band The Woody Brothers. The two were married in 1997 and soon after relocated to Alton. Chris played solo and as one half of a duo, and his last performance was at a January fundraiser, when his bandmates from The Woody Brothers came in to help raise money for his treatment.

"He was a full-time musician, that was Chris's passion, that's who he was," says Mrs. Mucci, adding that Chris was a creative force who could do anything he put his mind to. "This is what just kills me, he just had all this wonderful ability."

Shirley says her husband was an inspiration, a "whip smart" guy who graduated from Syracuse University with a long list of honors, organizations and accomplishments. "He went to Woodstock, honey, he did everything cool. He said, 'I didn't let anyone stop me, I just went.'"

Shirley says that their house was always full of music, but there's one song she never got to hear Chris play--a song he wrote for her a few months before he died. Shirley said she believes it was written when Chris was at home between November and December of 2010, right before Chris went back to Barnes Jewish Hospital to undergo more treatment for his Burkitt's lymphoma. She found the song while going through his possessions after his death. It's called "Just Another Day (I Know You Love Me)." You're gonna need a tissue for this one.

As I sit there in the haze of another foggy day
From the medicine I take that that doesn't really wash away
The pain that is so bad, that it's all that I think about
And it forces me to go where I never want to go.

Then you come into my room
And you take my by the hand and the pain just fades away
Well, it's not like there's a choice
I don't get to run and hide
The day stretches on and the trembling starts inside

I hold onto myself, I do as I'm told.
I get so very tired and I feel the awful cold
Then you come into my room and take me by the hand
And the pain just fades away

I'll say one thing for pain,
It concentrates the mind
It forces me to think, and it opens up my blinds
As it washes over me
On another foggy day
As I sit there in the haze, wishing I could fly away

Then you come into my room and you take me by the hand
And the pain just fades away
Don't ever go away.

Shirley gave the song to Justin Patterson, one of Chris' musician friends, and instructed him to put it to music. "His music was his life. It's all he ever wanted to do."

The event starts at 2 p.m. at The Loading Dock in Grafton, IL, and will go until 9 p.m. or later.

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I just found out about Chris today, May 5th. By happenstance I ran into Tom, one of his band mates in the Woody Brothers at a wholesale, big box store. It had been a number of years since I had seen any of the guys in the band and Tom had to tell me who he was. When he told me about Chris's passing I was deeply saddened. Chris was always upbeat and if he was having a bad you really couldn't tell. I spoke with Chris several years ago when heard one of his and the band's song being played on LA's Indie103.1. You see I was a huge fan of the band and Chris in particular. I also was in the radio business and had sent a copy of one of their CD's to a friend and business associate at the station. She gave the CD to Steve Jones formerly of the Sex Pistols and at the time the host of "Camp Freddy" on Indie 103.1, an eclectic three hour show that was day by day what "Jonesy" felt like playing. In the modern day of cookie cutter radio formats "Camp Freddy" was a breath of fresh air that capable of giving the listener a case of radio whiplash. One minute "Jonesy" would play Frank Sinatra followed by the Sex Pistols followed by a local band that had sent him a demo. On that particular "Jonsey" felt like playing this laid back, "Coastal Floribbean" band called the Woody Brothers. I was streaming the station from my office in Florida when I heard that unmistakable sound. Two things happened; 1) I almost fell out of my studio chair, and 2) I called Chris Mucci. You would have thought I told him he had won the Lottery! Chris immediately went to see if he could catch it on the stream and called the guys. Shortly thereafter I started getting some pretty excited phone calls! I still have Chris's cell number in my phone and I thought about that all day today. I just can't seem to erase it. Shirley you have my thoughts and prayers. Chris was a great man and I can't imagine what you are feeling. Chris, if you are playing that ultimate gig right now (which I'm pretty sure you are) just know that I will miss you brother! God speed!!